Christison

Christison, who served in two world wars and was Britain's oldest army general, died Tuesday in Melrose, Scotland. He was 100. He won the Military Cross and a Distinguished Service Order, was commander-in-chief of allied land forces in Southeast Asia in 1945 and took the surrender of the Japanese 7th Area Army and the South Seas Fleet at Singapore.

Christison, who served in two world wars and was Britain's oldest army general, died Tuesday in Melrose, Scotland. He was 100. He won the Military Cross and a Distinguished Service Order, was commander-in-chief of allied land forces in Southeast Asia in 1945 and took the surrender of the Japanese 7th Area Army and the South Seas Fleet at Singapore.

All the buttons popping off chests around City Hall today are because of the revelation that the O-rena, remarkably, enjoyed a $127,000 operating profit in its very first full year of operation. Unheard of. The man largely responsible, John Christison, was deservedly honored with a roast Monday night at Church Street Station by co-workers and other admirers. Unfortunately the roast was staged because Christison is departing after four years as Centroplex director for a similar position in Seattle.

In 11 days, John E. Christison's three-year ''love affair'' will be over.On Feb. 19, he will leave his position as director of the Orlando Centroplex, which includes six facilities: the Orlando Arena, the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, the Florida Citrus Bowl, the Expo Centre, Tinker Field and the Ben White Raceway.Christison said his job had become a ''second love'' that consumed much of his time.''I don't mind admitting that I'm going through separation anxiety,'' said Christison, 43. ''This has been a very personal project for me. It's difficult to pull away.

John Christison recalls that, when the city of Orlando hired him to be director of Centroplex nearly two years ago, he was told he could take it easy during his first month.''I could take time to get to know my staff, to ease into it,'' Christison recalls.But, fresh from Portland, Ore., and three days into the new job, Christison was on a plane bound for Houston to talk to architects about downtown Orlando's new arena, which had suddenly jumped into the fast track.''It has been frenetic ever since,'' Christison said.

The magic has gone out of the Orlando arena, or at least out of the name.Mayor Bill Frederick said Wednesday he has rejected suggestions such as MagicDome, Quest, Apex or Centrum.And no, he is not going along with the proposal Wednesday morning by Orlando Magic general manager Pat Williams, who offered Frederick Arena.Instead, the mayor said he will go with the simple, direct and most obvious choice: The Orlando Arena.The logo is still being designed, but city officials said it would probably have a giant O that looks like it was drawn with a paintbrush, with the arena's name in block letters inside.

RESIGNATION. John E. Christison, director of the Orlando Centroplex, said Wednesday that he will step down to become president and chief executive officer of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle for $99,500 a year. Christison will start his new job March 1. He has been director of Orlando Centroplex since Oct. 1, 1986. Centroplex includes Expo Centre, a convention hall; the Orlando Arena; Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre; Tinker Field; and Ben White Raceway at 1905 Lee Road in Orlando.

An arena and convention center official from Portland, Ore., has been chosen to run Orlando's sports, convention and entertainment facilities, including the proposed 15,000-seat downtown arena.John Christison, 39, has been general manager of the Portland Memorial Coliseum Complex for six years. It includes a 13,000-seat arena, a convention center and a 35,000-seat stadium. Before that, he held several lower-level positions in Tucson, Ariz.Mayor Bill Frederick, who selected him, proposes to pay Christison $60,000 a year with a possible $5,000 performance bonus at the end of one year.

THE GEORGE Thorogood and Steve Earle concert scheduled at the Orlando Arena for Tuesday night has been canceled. Refunds are available where tickets were bought, said John Christison, director of the Orlando Centroplex, which includes the new arena. Christison said Sunday it appeared the concert was scrubbed because of lack of ticket sales. He said fewer than 2,000 tickets had been sold. A show with the same performers is still scheduled for Wednesday in St. Petersburg.

In 11 days, John E. Christison's three-year ''love affair'' will be over.On Feb. 19, he will leave his position as director of the Orlando Centroplex, which includes six facilities: the Orlando Arena, the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, the Florida Citrus Bowl, the Expo Centre, Tinker Field and the Ben White Raceway.Christison said his job had become a ''second love'' that consumed much of his time.''I don't mind admitting that I'm going through separation anxiety,'' said Christison, 43. ''This has been a very personal project for me. It's difficult to pull away.

All the buttons popping off chests around City Hall today are because of the revelation that the O-rena, remarkably, enjoyed a $127,000 operating profit in its very first full year of operation. Unheard of. The man largely responsible, John Christison, was deservedly honored with a roast Monday night at Church Street Station by co-workers and other admirers. Unfortunately the roast was staged because Christison is departing after four years as Centroplex director for a similar position in Seattle.

RESIGNATION. John E. Christison, director of the Orlando Centroplex, said Wednesday that he will step down to become president and chief executive officer of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle for $99,500 a year. Christison will start his new job March 1. He has been director of Orlando Centroplex since Oct. 1, 1986. Centroplex includes Expo Centre, a convention hall; the Orlando Arena; Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre; Tinker Field; and Ben White Raceway at 1905 Lee Road in Orlando.

THE GEORGE Thorogood and Steve Earle concert scheduled at the Orlando Arena for Tuesday night has been canceled. Refunds are available where tickets were bought, said John Christison, director of the Orlando Centroplex, which includes the new arena. Christison said Sunday it appeared the concert was scrubbed because of lack of ticket sales. He said fewer than 2,000 tickets had been sold. A show with the same performers is still scheduled for Wednesday in St. Petersburg.

Bob and Chris LaSage are avid fans of the Orlando Magic.Among the first to buy season tickets, the Sanford couple were anxious to get to the Orlando Arena's grand opening Sunday to see the view from their basketball seats.Wearing black T-shirts with the Magic's blue and white emblem, the LaSages, both 39, walked from the first row of auditorium seats to the last row on the second concourse. Bob LaSage said he took mental notes, comparing Orlando's facility with some of the other sports and entertainment facilities he has visited.

By Bill Buchalter, Steve Doyle and Creig Ewing of The Sentinel Staff, January 3, 1989

Although John Christison holds many important duties for the city of Orlando, the one that has kept him breathless for the past three years is the operation of the scoreboard at the Florida Citrus Bowl. For the past two bowl games and the Florida-Georgia high school all-star game, the scoreboard failed to function properly, and city fathers held their breaths. Monday, a new, $448,000 scoreboard made Christison's job easy. ''I don't feel like I've got anything to do today,'' Christison said of the 1,800-square-foot board with laser message center and animation capability.

The group of 50 men, women and children cautiously picked their way through the dirt, careful to avoid loose wiring and other materials scattered about the north entrance of Orlando Arena. White plastic construction hats bobbed comically atop their heads as they followed John Christison up the half-completed steps past a group of laborers.Christison is the city's man in charge of the impressive new building, and on this forbidding Sunday afternoon he is serving as one of the tour guides taking groups through the structure.

The first major rock concert at the Florida Citrus Bowl in more than three years will take place Feb. 28 with Genesis, the British band featuring pop superstar Phil Collins.Tickets for the show, priced at $17.75, will go on sale Jan. 17 at Select-A-Seat outlets, said Jack Boyle, president of Cellar Door Concerts of Fort Lauderdale, the concert's promoter.The Genesis date was confirmed Wednesday by John Christison, director of Orlando Centroplex, which manages the stadium.While negotiations for the stadium rental are not yet completed, Christison said the event is likely to reap between $100,000 and $150,000 for the city, a profit similar to that from previous stadium shows.

Orlando Arena, though slightly behind schedule, is about two-thirds complete and should open by February.That timetable has caused arena officials to scratch one planned event -- this year's Red Lobster Classic, a four-team college basketball tournament played in December. The event has been played at the Orange County Convention and Civic Center.John Christison, the city official in charge of the arena, said minor delays make it impossible to have the building ready by December unless crews are paid overtime for working nights and weekends.

Carr Performing Arts Centre, long a subject of grousing by performers and audiences alike, is once again coming under the scrutiny of acousticians and architects.A team of performing-arts design experts, including nationally known acoustician Christopher Jaffe, went through the building this week as part of a $35,000 study commissioned by the Orlando Centroplex Department. To be completed in about 60 days, the survey will focus on Carr's stage house -- the part of the theater from the curtain back -- to look for ways to improve its usefulness for the groups that perform there.

John Christison recalls that, when the city of Orlando hired him to be director of Centroplex nearly two years ago, he was told he could take it easy during his first month.''I could take time to get to know my staff, to ease into it,'' Christison recalls.But, fresh from Portland, Ore., and three days into the new job, Christison was on a plane bound for Houston to talk to architects about downtown Orlando's new arena, which had suddenly jumped into the fast track.''It has been frenetic ever since,'' Christison said.